3-  . 

SoCtU  w  K.Uoie^i  o. 

American  BoartJ  of  (Commissioners  for 


JForrign  iBisstons. 


THE 

South  African  Mission, 

Rhodesian  Branch. 


(Formerly  called  The  East  Central  African  Mission.) 


A  CONDENSED  SKETCH. 

I  1893-1007. 


i  I  Mi  h  AIM  ■  - 

BOSTON : 

^rtiitctt  for  tije  &mtrlcan  Boats. 

)  j  t 

1907. 


PRESS  OF  SAMUEL  USHER, 


BOSTON,  MASS. 


RHODESIAN  BRANCH 
OF  THE  SOUTH  AFRICAN  MISSION. 


i .  The  Origin.  —  This  mission  is  at  once  tht 
foreign  missionary  enterprise  of  the  Zulu  mission 
in  Natal,  and  an  independent  movement  to  reach 
the  tribes  in  the  interior  of  Africa  with  the 
gospel.  The  mission  to  the  Zulus  in  Southern 
Africa  began  seventy-two  years  ago  at  two  points 
—  one  in  Natal  called  the  maritime  mission,  and 
the  other  in  the  heart  of  the  continent,  about 
two  degrees  south  of  the  Tropic  of  Capricorn, 
called  the  interior  mission.  And  although  the 
latter  was  abandoned  as  soon  as  begun  (in  con¬ 
sequence  of  wars  between  the  Dutch  boers  and 
the  natives),  from  an  early  day  in  its  history  the 
Zulu  mission  has  cherished  this  hope  with  which 
it  was  planted,  and  has  cast  its  eyes  upon  the 
regions  beyond  Natal,  in  Zululand  and  the  Gaza 
Country,  northeast  of  the  Limpopo  River,  and 
Matabeleland,  as  a  field  to  which  its  labors 
might  at  some  time  extend.  This  territory  is 
occupied  by  tribes  kindred  to  the  natives  of 
Natal,  and  the  Zulu  tongue  is  generally  under¬ 
stood.  The  hope  has  been  cherished  that  the 
native  Christians  would  be  drawn  into  this  work, 
and  thus  the  expansive  impulse  of  a  real  foreign 


3 


missionary  effort  be  added  to  the  forces  which 
were  developing  the  mission  churches.  Various 
projects  looking  to  this  end  have  been  consid¬ 
ered  from  time  to  time  ;  but  political  complica¬ 
tions  and  scanty  numbers  in  the  mission  staff, 
and  a  certain  lack  of  zeal  among  the  natives, 
combined  to  prevent  any  active  movement  for 
many  years. 

At  length,  with  the  impulse  given  to  our 
knowledge  of  Central  Africa  and  its  peoples, 
and  to  missionary  zeal  in  their  behalf,  especially 
by  the  explorations  of  Livingstone  and  Stan¬ 
ley,  this  long  cherished  purpose  awoke  to  new 
strength,  and  preliminary  steps  were  taken.  In 
the  Annual  Meeting  of  the  Zulu  mission  for 
1879  the  matter  was  taken  up  in  earnest,  thor¬ 
oughly  considered,  and  a  plan  of  operations 
formed.  Rev.  Myron  W.  Pinkerton,  one  of  the 
younger  members  of  the  mission,  was  authorized 
to  make  explorations  in  Umzila’s  kingdom,  be¬ 
tween  the  Limpopo  and  the  Zambezi,  with  refer¬ 
ence  to  the  proposed  new  mission.  After  careful 
preparations  he  set  out  July  8,  1880,  with  one 
American  and  one  Christian  native.  The  expe¬ 
dition  was  wisely  planned ;  great  kindness  and 
help  were  received  from  the  Portuguese  author¬ 
ities,  and  everything  seemed  to  promise  success, 
when  suddenly  Mr.  Pinkerton  was  prostrated 
by  fever  and  died  November  10,  and  was  buried 
on  the  way  from  the  sea  to  Umzila’s  kraal. 


4 


The  next  year  Rev.  E.  H.  Richards  was  sent 
by  the  Zulu  mission  to  take  up  the  task  of  ex¬ 
ploration  where  Mr.  Pinkerton  had  laid  it  down. 
Umzila’s  kraal,  the  capital  of  the  kingdom,  was 
reached  October  io,  1881,  without  special  inci¬ 
dent  ;  and,  after  a  full  conference  with  the  king, 
the  desired  permission  was  given  to  open  the  new 
mission  whenever  the  Americans  should  choose 
to  come.  It  was  ascertained  that  Zulu  was  the 
court  language  and  was  generally  understood 
even  by  the  tribes  tributary  to  Umzila,  whose 
vernacular  was  a  dialect  kindred  to  the  Zulu. 

2.  The  Location  and  Beginnings.  —  In 
November,  1882,  Rev.  William  C.  Wilcox,  des¬ 
ignated  to  assist  Mr.  Richards  in  opening  the 
new  mission,  requested  permission  to  go  forward 
alone  and  explore  the  region  around  Inhambane 
Bay.  Permission  was  given  to  begin  the  new 
mission  at  this  point,  with  the  expectation  that 
after  due  exploration  and  the  arrival  of  needful 
reinforcements  a  steady  advance  would  be  made 
toward  the  tribes  in  the  interior.  Mr.  Wilcox, 
with  his  family,  went  forward  in  July,  1883,  t0 
establish  the  mission,  which  has  since  received 
the  name  of  the  East  Central  African  Mission. 

In  1884  Mr.  Wilcox  was  joined  by  Rev.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Richards  and  by  Rev.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Ousley.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Ousley  had  been  edu¬ 
cated  in  the  schools  of  the  American  Missionary 


s 


Association,  graduating  at  Fisk  University.  The 
three  families  settled  at  separate  stations,  Mong- 
vve,  Kambini,  and  Makodvveni,  all  near  to  each 
other  and  to  the  Bay.  Zulu  helpers  came  to  their 
assistance,  and  the  work  of  teaching,  preaching, 
and  Bible  translation  went  on  uneventfully  until 
1888,  when  Rev.  and  Mrs.  Francis  W.  Bates  and 
Miss  Nancy  Jones  reinforced  the  mission. 

Miss  Jones  was  the  first  single  woman  of 
African  descent  ever  commissioned  by  the 
American  Board. 

The  malarial  climate  of  the  coast  proved  ex¬ 
tremely  unhealthful  to  several  of  the  missionaries. 
This  fact,  combined  with  an  unchanged  purpose 
on  the  part  of  the  Board  to  push  forward  as 
soon  as  possible  to  the  sites  originally  chosen 
among  the  tribes  of  the  interior  highlands,  oc¬ 
casioned  a  second  expedition  to  Umzila’s  country, 
now  called  Gazaland.  This  region  lies  along 
the  eastern  coast,  from  Delagoa  Bay  northward 
to  the  mouth  of  the  Zambesi  and  extends  inland 
from  150  to  200  miles.  Mr.  Bates  accompanied 
Mr.  Wilder  of  the  Zulu  Mission,  but  the  journey 
was  fruitless  as  to  its  main  object.  Gungunyana, 
the  successor  of  Umzila,  had  given  his  confidence 
to  Portuguese  missionaries,  and  declined  to  re¬ 
ceive  other  white  men. 

A  change  of  climate  had  become  imperative  for 
Mr.  Bates,  and  in  1889  he  and  his  wife  were 
transferred  to  the  Zulu  Mission.  Mrs.  Richards’ 


6 


severe  sufferings  from  malaria  necessitated  the 
return  of  that  family  to  the  United  States,  and 
in  1890  they  were  released  from  their  connection 
with  the  Board.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Ousley  were  also 
obliged  to  resign  on  account  of  ill  health.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Wilcox,  who  had  withdrawn  from  the 
mission  in  1887,  were  reappointed  early  in  1891 
and  went  immediately  to  the  field.  Rev.  and 
Mrs.  Fred.  R.  Bunker  and  W.  L.  Thompson, 
M.D.,  also  joined  the  mission  in  1891. 

At  that  time  the  removal  of  Gungunyana  to  the 
southward  and  the  openings  made  by  the  British 
into  Gazaland  made  the  moment  favorable  for 
a  new  effort  to  reach  the  location  chosen  from 
the  first.  Mr.  Wilcox  and  Dr.  Thompson  under¬ 
took  another  journey  inland,  and  on  the  way 
received  from  the  Honorable  Cecil  Rhodes,  the 
South  African  premier,  the  promise  of  a  tract  of 
3,000  acres  of  land  for  each  missionary  family,  on 
the  plateau  above  Umzila’s  old  kraal,  now  under 
the  British  protectorate.  Gungunyana  also  gave 
free  permission  for  the  entrance  of  missionaries. 

The  explorers  found  the  region  offered  them 
to  be  a  beautiful  country,  at  an  elevation  of  about 
4,000  feet  above  the  sea,  well  Watered  and  well 
wooded,  and  inhabited  by  a  friendly  people. 
They  marked  out  a  site  upon  the  slope  of  Mt. 
Silinda,  200  miles  from  the  coast,  and  just  within 
the  line  of  the  British  protectorate.  It  was  a 
semi-circular  opening  in  the  forest  which  clothed 


7 


the  mountain  side,  and  it  overlooked  a  fertile 
valley  stretching  far  below.  The  trees  were  the 
finest  they  had  seen  in  Africa.  It  was  a  pleasure 
to  find  that  the  mark  made  by  Mr.  Rhodes  upon 
the  map  as  the  place  for  the  mission  exactly 
corresponded  with  their  own  selection. 

Still  another  careful  exploration  was  made  by 
Messrs.  Wilder,  Bunker  and  Thompson  in  1892. 
All  things  confirmed  the  choice  and  favored  the 
new  departure,  and  a  pioneer  company  set  out  on 
the  twenty-first  of  June,  1893,  for  Gazaland.  The 
party  included  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Wilder  of  the  Zulu 
Mission,  with  their  children;  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Bunker  and  Miss  Jones;  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Thomp¬ 
son,  and  Mr.  Bates.  Mrs.  Bates  and  her  little 
children  returned  to  America  until  the  mission 
should  be  somewhat  established.  Several  Zulu 
helpers  accompanied  the  missionaries.  They 
traveled  by  steamer  to  the  mouth  of  the  Buzi 
River  and  by  canoes  and  on  foot  the  remaining 
distance,  the  rear  of  the  party  reaching  Mt. 
Silinda  on  the  nineteenth  of  October,  1893. 
On  a  few  days  of  this  long  and  toilsome  journey 
some  of  the  ladies  walked  over  twenty  miles,  en¬ 
during  the  tramp  bravely.  On  the  way,  as  they 
camped  by  night  in  the  lowlands,  they  had  suf¬ 
fered  much  from  fever,  but  the  mountain  air 
soon  checked  it  and  they  found  the  climate  both 
healthful  and  agreeable. 

Their  temporary  huts  were  soon  completed. 

8 


Most  of  them  were  of  circular  form  with  conical 
roofs,  built  of  rough  sticks,  plastered  with  mud, 
and  having  floors  of  pounded  earth.  On  the 
thirtieth  of  November  they  held  a  thanksgiving 
service.  At  that  date  they  could  report  the  be¬ 
ginning  of  a  boys’  school  and  four  out-stations 
at  which  regular  Sunday  services  were  held,  the 
Zulu  helpers  proving  a  most  valuable  assistance. 
The  Zulu  language  was  understood  by  the  people, 
though  it  was  not  their  own  tongue. 

As  early  as  the  following  March,  1894,  there 
were  converts  to  the  truth.  The  active  opposi¬ 
tion  of  neighboring  Boer  colonists  had  been 
overcome,  and  the  missionaries  had  begun  to 
build  permanent  houses.  They  taught  the  natives 
to  make  bricks,  and  to  assist  in  laying  the  walls, 
sawing  the  timber,  and  putting  in  the  sashes. 

The  land  granted  to  the  mission  was  in  two 
blocks,  twenty  miles  apart,  and  the  grant  was 
conditioned  upon  both  tracts  being  occupied. 
Mr.  Wilder  was  chosen  to  open  the  second  tract, 
on  the  side  of  Mt.  Chikore,  and  he  settled 
there  in  1895,  and  a  wagon  road  was  built  be¬ 
tween  that  place  and  Mt.  Silinda.  His  health 
suffered  severely  from  the  hard  labor  incident  to 
the  undertaking,  without  proper  assistance,  and 
it  was  feared  that  he  would  be  obliged  to  leave 
the  mission.  This  trial  was,  however,  mercifully 
averted  by  a  season  of  rest  in  Natal. 

In  that  year  Mr.  Bates  came  to  America  for 


9 


SKETCH  MAP  OF  THE  REGION  ABOUT 


his  family,  and  in  1896  they  went  to  Gazaland, 
accompanied  by  Miss  H.  J.  Gilson.  Miss  Gilson 
went  to  found  a  boarding  school,  in  which  she 
hoped  to  educate  the  children  of  both  natives 
and  colonists.  She  had  had  special  preparation 
for  this  work  in  several  years  as  a  teacher  in  the 
Huguenot  schools  of  Cape  Colony  and  among 
missionaries  in  Natal. 

This  party  made  the  journey  from  Beira  to 
Mt.  Silinda,  which  had  occupied  the  pioneers 
three  months,  in  fifteen  days.  A  railroad  had 
now  been  built  for  165  miles  inland  from  Beira, 
and  a  wagon  road  for  a  part  of  the  remaining 
way. 

In  this  year,  1896,  many  were  presenting  them¬ 
selves  for  church  membership,  and,  after  careful 
instruction  and  thorough  examination,  the  first 
church  in  Gazaland  was  formed  in  January,  1897, 
with  sixteen  members,  all  on  profession  of  their 
faith.  This  joy  supported  the  little  isolated  band 
of  missionaries  through  a  long  season  of  tem¬ 
poral  distress  caused  by  a  visitation  of  locusts, 
destroying  the  crops,  and  by  the  widespread 
destruction  of  cattle  by  rinderpest,  followed  by 
famine  and  sickness  among  the  natives. 

The  boarding  pupils  of  the  school  had  to  be 
sent  to  their  distant  homes,  but  they  did  a  truly 
remarkable  evangelistic  work  among  their  own 
people.  The  hearts  of  the  missionaries  had 
before  this  time  been  made  glad  by  a  like  Chris- 


tian  activity  among  some  of  their  lads  who  had 
gone  120  miles  eastward  to  their  homes,  and 
whose  labors  resulted  in  the  professed  conversion 
of  twenty  persons. 

Miss  Gilson’s  school  of  boys  and  girls  quickly 
recovered  itself,  with  the  passing  away  of  the 
famine.  Mr.  Bates  taught  in  the  boys’  depart¬ 
ment.  In  1899  there  were  one  hundred  pupils 
enrolled,  sixty  of  whom  were  boarders.  Of 
those  enrolled,  twenty-five  were  girls ;  ten  of 
them  were  in  Miss  Gilson’s  family.  Sixty-two 
were  from  heathen  homes,  the  rest  from  the 
families  of  the  Zulu  evangelists  and  of  European 
and  Boer  settlers.  Both  blacks  and  whites  had 
come  in  considerable  numbers  to  live  near  the 
mission  land,  knowing  that  they  would  be  pro¬ 
tected  there,  and  they  readily  responded  to  calls 
for  whatever  labor  the  mission  could  afford  to 
employ. 

One  of  the  church  members  was  a  white  pupil 
whose  father  was  at  first  bitterly  opposed  to  a 
mixed  school  for  blacks  and  whites,  averring 
that  the  whites  would  never  send  their  children 
to  such  a  school.  Prejudices  were  removed  and 
Miss  Gilson’s  cherished  hope  began  to  be  fulfilled 
of  preparing  white  pupils  for  Christian  service 
in  the  land,  thus  multiplying  the  laborers  in  that 
wide  harvest-field.  A  growing  interest  among 
the  Europeans  in  the  work  for  the  natives  prom¬ 
ised  well  for  the  future.  The  older  white  girls 


13 


were  most  earnest  and  enthusiastic  students,  some 
of  them  having  been  able  to  assist  as  pupil  teach¬ 
ers.  At  one  time  they  were  learning  from  the 
wife  of  a  Zulu  evangelist  to  read  the  Zulu  New 
Testament,  so  that  after  leaving  school  they  might 
be  able  to  teach  the  natives  upon  their  home 
farms. 

Most  of  the  young  church  members  are  com¬ 
mending  the  gospel  by  their  lives  and  by  their 
words.  Some  of  them  have  gone  down  as  evan¬ 
gelists  to  the  lowlands,  where  our  missionaries 
cannot  live,  and  have  shown  good  abilities  and 
genuine  devotion.  Others  have  gone  daily,  after 
the  morning  hours  of  labor  and  of  study,  to 
teach  a  kraal  school,  below  the  station. 

In  April,  1899,  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Thompson  came 
for  a  furlough  to  America,  worn  down  by  the 
strain  of  medical  and  manual  labor ;  and  in 
March,  1900,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Wm.  T.  Lawrence, 
M.D.,  sailed  to  join  the  mission,  and  were 
assigned  to  the  Chikore  station. 

But  even  with  this  welcome  reinforcement,  the 
number  of  mission  families  is  only  five,  instead 
of  the  six  originally  considered  indispensable. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Bunker  withdrew  in  1896  to  an 
important  work  in  Natal,  and  Miss  Jones  retired 
from  the  mission  in  1897. 

The  mission  has  had  a  varied  experience  in 
the  recent  years.  In  1904  Mr.  Bates  was  obliged 
by  alarming  illness  to  return  with  his  family  to 


14 


this  country,  and  he  has  finally  resigned  his 
connection  with  the  mission.  Mr.  C.  C.  Fuller, 
accompanied  by  his  wife,  went  to  Mt.  Silinda 
in  1902  to  take  charge  of  an  industrial  work  al¬ 
ready  started.  With  almost  superhuman  labors 
he  succeeded  in  bringing  in  from  the  coast  a 
traction  steam  engine,  by  the  aid  of  which  sub¬ 
stantial  progress  has  been  made.  Mt.  Silinda 
has  an  abundance  of  arable  land,  a  magnificent 
forest,  a  good  water  supply,  and  it  is  surrounded 
by  intelligent  natives  who  are  preferred  as  labor¬ 
ers,  by  miners  and  other  employers,  to  all  other 
tribes.  And  unless  the  mission  shall  train  the 
hand  as  well  as  the  head  and  heart,  it  is  doomed 
to  failure.  It  cannot  keep  the  young  people 
always  in  its  immediate  care.  The  young  Chris¬ 
tians  must  receive  such  training  as  will  enable 
them  to  rise  above  the  fearful  temptations  of 
the  kraals  and  by  skillful  labor  to  establish 
Christian  homes  and  secure  such  things  as  are 
needed  for  a  civilized  life.  There  is  a  bright 
prospect,  also,  that  the  industrial  department, 
if  properly  manned,  may  become  not  only  self- 
supporting,  but  remunerative,  and  a  skilled 
mechanic  is  imperatively  called  for  as  a  co¬ 
laborer  with  Mr.  Fuller. 

In  1902  Miss  H.  J.  Gilson  was  transferred 
from  Mt.  Silinda  to  Melsetter,  the  location  of 
the  British  Resident  representing  the  South 
Africa  Company,  where  a  school  for  the  white 


is 


children  of  the  colony  was  established.  The 
company  meets  the  expenses  of  this  school.  It 
was  believed  that  there  was  no  work  more 
essential  for  the  colored  people  than  the  educa¬ 
tion  of  the  colonists  through  their  children  to  a 
Christian  view  of  their  relations  to  the  natives. 
For  the  natives  also,  an  evening  school  has  been 
kept,  with  the  assistance  in  both  of  Miss  Minnie 
Clarke,  and  they  wait  for  the  day  when  the 
colonists  will  be  so  far  enlightened  as  to  allow 
of  teaching  both  races  together.  Miss  Gilson’s 
place  at  Mt.  Silinda  has  been  taken  by  Miss 
Julia  F.  Winter,  who  joined  the  mission  in  1904. 

In  1905  that  station  was  reinforced  by  the 
coming  of  Rev.  and  Mrs.  Thomas  King,  and  it 
still  enjoys  the  devoted  services  of  Dr.  and 
Mrs.  Thompson,  the  pioneers,  and  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Fuller. 

Rev.  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Wilder  are  now  alone  at 
Chikore,  Dr.  Lawrence  having  gone  to  England 
to  comply  with  the  government  law  that  no 
physician  shall  receive  license  to  practise  med¬ 
icine  unless  he  has  a  degree  from  a  British 
medical  school. 

In  1903  a  deputation  consisting  of  Rev.  E.  E. 
Strong,  d.d.,  and  Rev.  Sydney  Strong,  d.d., 
the  latter  accompanied  by  his  wife,  was  sent  by 
the  American  Board  to  South  Africa,  and  went 
on  to  Rhodesia.  They  were  surprised  and 
gratified  by  the  progress  made  in  the  ten  years 

l6 


since  the  mission  was  fairly  begun,  and  were 
led  to  anticipate  great  results  in  the  future. 
The  Zulu  evangelists  from  Natal  had  proved  to 
be  successful  in  gathering  congregations  in  a 
number  of  places  adjacent  to  the  stations.  In 
both  of  them  new  helpers  are  needed  in  suffi¬ 
cient  force  to  allow  of  an  advance  into  the  valley 
of  the  Sabi  River,  now  wholly  unevangelized. 

This  mission  is  so  closely  related  to  that  in 
Natal  that  they  have  been  practically  united 
under  the  name  of  The  American  Board’s  Mission 
in  South  Africa,  having  two  branches,  the  Zulu 
and  the  Rhodesian.  A  link  between  them  has 
been  formed  at  Beira,  on  the  coast,  six  hundred 
miles  north  of  Durban,  Natal.  Here  Rev.  Mr. 
Bunker  and  his  family  were  located  in  1904,  ac¬ 
companied  by  Zulu  evangelists,  in  the  expecta¬ 
tion  of  reaching  not  only  the  people  of  that  port, 
but  the  populations  along  the  coast  toward  the 
interior,  especially  in  the  valley  of  the  river 
Busi.  The  Portuguese  officials  have  put  many 
obstructions  in  the  way,  but  Mr.  Bunker  is  still 
pursuing  his  work  hopefully. 

Amid  the  toils,  delays  and  difficulties  of 
founding  homes  and  planting  a  church  in  the 
wilderness,  the  hearts  of  the  missionaries  have 
been  strengthened  by  the  evident  blessing  of 
God  upon  their  endeavors,  and  by  the  fair 
promise  of  the  future.  They  are  faithfully  and 
nobly  doing  their  part,  the  Lord  of  the  harvest 


J7 


is  owning  their  labors,  and  it  only  remains  that 
His  people  in  our  favored  land  should  never  fail 
of  giving  them  a  constant  sympathy  and  an 
abundant  support. 


SOUTH  AFRICAN  MISSION,  1907. 

RHODESIAN  BRANCH. 


The  dates  given  below  indicate  the  time  when 
each  individual  joined  either  the  Zulu  or  Rhode¬ 
sian  Branch  of  the  South  African  Mission. 


Rev.  George  A.  Wilder,  D.D.,  Chikore .  1880 

Mrs.  Alice  C.  Wilder .  1880 

William  L.  Thompson,  M.D.,  Mt.  Silinda . .  1891 

Mrs.  Mary  E.  Thompson .  1889 

Miss  H.  Juliette  Gilson,  Melsetter . 1896 

William  T.  Lawrence,  M.D.,  Chikore .  1900 

Mrs.  Florence  E.  Lawrence .  1900 

Mr  Columbus  C.  Fuller,  Mt.  Silinda .  1902 

Mrs.  Julia  B.  Fuller .  1902 

Miss  Julia  F.  Winter,  Mt.  Silinda .  1904 

Rev.  Thomas  King,  Mt.  Silinda . 1905 

Mrs.  Estelle  R.  King .  1905 


Rev.  and  Mrs.  Fred  R.  Bunker  occupy  Beira,  the  inter¬ 
mediate  station  between  the  Zulu  and  Rhodesian  branches  of 
the  South  African  Mission,  having  joined  the  mission  in  1891, 
opening  work  at  Beira  in  1905. 


: 

.... 


•  i  . 


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